Reasons behind the fiasco of PTI Government

When Imran Khan was sworn in as PM, everyone celebrated and expected that he would be different from other corrupt politicians. People started taking interest in politics because they saw hope. They used to follow his news and watch his interviews.

 

The nation was convinced that he would perform and transform our institutions. But, unfortunately, he went along the same old lines the political elites of Pakistan have been adopting. The same dogmas and rotten practices our politicians have in their buckets were readily used by Imran Khan and his PTI government.

Perhaps the rationale behind the failure of Imran’s government cannot be merely a foreign conspiracy. It is more about his incompetence, as he was unable to deliver on the promises he made to the nation while speaking from that “Container”.

1-Imran Khan failed to draft an economic policy after resuming office. He asked IMF many times for financial aid despite being critical of IMF policies and despite making promises of shunning IMF forever. People saw the clear dichotomy.

2-Imran Khan announced job creation, houses and poverty alleviation but he ended up unable to deliver. Instead, poor economic conditions meant that millions became jobless.

3-Imran Khan promised to put all the “corrupt politicians” like Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif behind bars but he provided impunity to NS and Dr Asim.

4-Imran Khan had brought in dual citizens, mostly from the US, to be a part of his team. This discouraged his ideological supporters, who voiced their concerns openly and behind the doors, without getting much attention. At some point, it appeared that all key decisions were being made by non-elected advisors and ‘assistants’.

5-Imran Khan appointed Sardar Usman Buzdar as Chief Minister Punjab, with no former experience of running a massive province, half of Pakistan’s population! Tales of his incompetency, allegations of corruption, started from day one, as people lost trust in his ability to bring about any meaningful change.

6-TLP and other religious groups blackmailed Imran Khan on blasphemy.

7-Imran didn’t pay a visit to Malaysia to get Muslim countries on one platform because of Muhammad Bin Salman. This despite promising an ‘independent’ foreign policy.

8-Imran Khan couldn’t ask France Ambassador to leave Pakistan to diffuse the religious chaos, considering relations with the EU. He, however, did not apply the same analogy to the US and went on a full diplomatic rampage.

9-Imran Khan had promised to make PM house a world-class University. Nothing of that sort was done.

10. Imran Khan had Lady Farah Khan, a close friend of the first lady, who is accused of being involved in illegal transfers of government officers in Punjab and receiving kickbacks. Stories of these allegations were making rounds for months, denting IK’s promise of “Zero Tolerance” against corruption.

11-Imran Khan didn’t get into parliament with a 2/3 majority but through an alliance with independent candidates, and parties that he had in the past called traitors, robbers and other names. His government made many concessions to its allies, giving them key positions and turning an eye to their past.

This practice of selective cast a long shadow on the credentials of Imran Khan as a uni-directional anti-corruption warrior.

12-Imran Khan had been seeking help from the establishment and defending them, more often which made him no different from others.

13-He couldn’t build any significant new institution, instead indulged in changing the names of programs.

14-In the end he could not show the courage to resign after the No-Confidence Motion and intentionally battered the decorum of the National Assembly and held the constitution in abeyance to continue his reign.

One can register and agree other parties are corrupt. Also, Imran Khan is an honest leader who raised expectations of a nation that he would deliver and perform But he did not, or could not.

No one could see any achievement of PTI in the last three years except recriminations. In conclusion, Imran Khan turned out to be a populist, narcissist and just another pawn of the deep state, like other politicians.